Rebounds

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Turnovers

Pts off Turnovers

2nd Chance Pts

Bench Pts

OTTAWA (CIS) – The fifth-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies shocked
the CIS men’s basketball world Saturday night with an 86-82
upset win over the top-ranked and defending champion Carleton
Ravens in the second semifinal of the 2010 national tournament, at
Scotiabank Place.

One week after winning the first Canada West title in team history,
the Huskies qualified for the national final for the first time in
their fifth appearance at the CIS championship.

Saskatchewan will face the No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds on Sunday at 6:30
p.m., live on TSN2. The Huskies beat UBC 104-87 in overtime in the
Canada West semis on March 5.

Carleton was hoping for a second straight W.P. McGee trophy, and a
seventh CIS banner in eight years.

“It was two very good teams. We took a swing. They swung
back. It was a back and forth game. We just had the final
punch,” said 12-year Saskatchewan head coach Greg Jockims.
“The keys were rebounding and defending. When you get into
these battles you can’t win them all. It was a hostile
environment out there but we stuck together.”

“We chose not to double [Kevin] McCleery. We decided we
weren’t getting beat by the 3-ball tonight. We were
definitely not letting them beat us that way tonight. I thought we
rebounded well and when we were stopped on the drive we kicked it
back out to the perimeter.”

Fifth-year senior Michael Linklater of Saskatoon was sensational
for the Huskies scoring a game-high 25 points, including 18 on
6-for-10 from beyond the arc. He added seven rebounds on his way to
Saskatchewan player-of-the-game honours.

Showron Glover, a fourth-year guard from California who led the
nation in scoring with 28.1 points per outing in the regular
season, added 18 points for the winners, while Saskatoon native
Michael Lieffers contributed with a 13-point, 11-rebound
double-double.

Troy Gottselig of Findlater, Sask., also a veteran of five seasons,
also scored 13 in the win.

In his final university game, second-team all-Canadian forward
Kevin McCleery of Ottawa tallied 20 points and eight rebounds. Cole
Hobin of Ashton, Ont., with 20, and Mike Kenny of Ottawa, with 12,
also scored in double figures for the Ravens in the losing
cause.

The story of the game was three-point shooting. Saskatchewan
finished 12-for-31 from beyond the arc (38.7%), while Carleton hit
on only two of 17 attempts from long distance (11.8%).

The battle for rebounds ended in a 36-36 tie.

“We were trying to keep them out of the paint but we
struggled with it. We didn’t physically get to a lot of loose
balls and they got some opportunities,” said 11-year Carleton
sideline boss Dave Smart. “We went 2 for 17 from the three
for a team who usually shoots well. That’s a credit to the
way they defend. They didn’t double Kevin which took away the
easy three we usually get. They’re a great basketball team.
You have to play well to beat a team like that.”

“I’m extremely proud of what he’s (Kevin
McCleery) been able to accomplish over the last five years.
He’s a good player, but he’s an even better person. One
of my proudest moments is that our guys have just lost a chance at
the national championship and 13 guys are picking the cups up off
the floor... they’re great kids. I couldn’t be prouder
of this team but we’re obviously disappointed about the
loss.”

Saskatchewan led 25-24 at the end of an entertaining opening
quarter thanks in large part to spectacular three-point shooting.
The Huskies went 5-for-10 while the Ravens missed their four
attempts.

It was more of the same in the second period, when the Linklater
Show got underway. The 5-foot-11 guard made it 41-35 Huskies with
his second three-pointer of the night, and 46-37 going into the
halftime break with his third three of the contest.

After 20 minutes of play, Carleton was shooting 44.4% from the
field and Saskatchewan 42.1%, but the Huskies were 8-for-17 from
long range compared to 1-for-8 for their OUA rivals.

Linklater was back at it in the third quarter. His fourth
three-pointer of the game made it 56-47 Saskatchewan and his fifth,
on his seventh attempt from beyond the arc, put his team ahead
60-47 with 5:24 left in the period, which ended 69-57.

The Ravens opened the fourth on a 6-0 run to get back to within six
points, and a bucket by McCleery cut the margin to three, at 72-69,
with seven minutes remaining.

Carleton was once again within three with 2:35 left on the clock
following a pair of Thompson free throws, found itself within one,
at 78-77, with 1:40 to go, after Kyle Smendziuk hit two foul shots
of his own.

After Lieffers restored Saskatchewan’s three-point cushion
with a basket inside and Carleton failed to score on its ensuing
possession, Linklater all but sealed the victory with his sixth
three of the match, which made it 83-77 Saskatchewan with 38
seconds left.

McCleery muscled his way under the Huskies basket to add two points
for Carleton. The Ravens then fouled Glover with 19 seconds
remaining, but the all-star guard made no mistake and went 2-for-2
from the line.

Linklater put the icing on the cake grabbing a huge defensive
rebound on Carleton’s next possession. He was fouled, and
made one of two free throws.

GAME NOTES: UBC beat Calgary 77-63 in Saturday’s early
semifinal... UBC defeated Saskatchewan 90-83 in Vancouver on Nov.
13 in the only regular season meeting between the two teams... UBC
and Saskatchewan have never met at the CIS championship... The last
Canada West team to win the CIS was Alberta in 2002 thanks to a
76-71 gold-medal victory over Western Ontario... Brandon beat
Alberta 79-72 in 1996 in the last all-Canada West national
final...